Food Flavours Flashcards
what are sensations produced by food in the mouth and nose?
taste: sweet, sour, salty, bitter, umami
odor: pungent, putrid, floral, ehtereal, minty, musty, camphoraceous
mouthfeel: pain, temp, tactile sensation
how are flavours perceived?
interactions between nasal cavity, receptors in mouth, teeth and jaws sends signals to the CNS for translation into what flavours are perceived
what is found in food that elicites sweet taste?
electronegtive elements in molecules
common elements are O and N:
- O: alcohols (glycerols and glucose), aldehydes, cinnamaldehyde
- N: peptides and amino acids
what is used as a reference for sweetness of sugars?
glucose
assigned number 1
what sugars are the same sizes but different levels of sweetness?
lactose and sucrose
glucose and fructose
what are the two groups of amino acids? what are these groups based on?
D and L amino acids
based on their optical activities (one rotates clockwise and the other rotates anticlockwise)
this results in differences due to interactions in the mouth receptors
are D or L amino acids sweeter?
D is always sweeter than L
how is sucrose broken down?
invertase breaks down glucose and fructose bond
results in a mixture of glucose and fructose, which is sweeter than the solution of sucrose (known as invert sugars)
what monosaccharides compose sucrose?
glucose and fructose
what are invert sugars?
broken down components of sucrose (glucose and fructose)
glucose and fructose (the invert sugars) are sweeter than the original sugar
what does amylase break down in corn syrup?
glucose hydrolysate
what is high fructose corn syrup broken down into?
what enzyme does this?
glucose isomerase breaks down fructose into hydrolysate, comprised of glucose and fructose
what are traditional sweeteners?
sucrose (regular sugar) invert sugars corn syrup high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) maltodextrose
what are examples of food used traditionally as sweeteners?
honey
maple
molasses
what compounds are found in honey?
fructose (33-40%)
glucose (32-40%
water (15-20%)
significant phenolic content
what sugars are found in maple?
glucose
fructose
sucrose
what are molasses?
dark syrup liquid left after recovery of sugar from either sugar cane or sugar beet
describe how molasses are made
- crush sugar cane to create juice. Heat juice to concentrate. Separate sugar crystals and syrup (molasses)
- continue to heat syrup. Separate into crystals and syrup (cane molasses)
- continue to heat. Separate into crystals and another syrup (black syrup molasses)
how does the color and viscosity change as you keep heating molasses syrup?
they increase
what is found in sugar cane?
vit B6 iron Mg K manganese calcium
high intensity synthetic sweeteners are ____ and ____ than traditional sweeteners
cheaper: easy production
less caloric: synthetic sweeteners are not as readily metabolized
what is the result of synthetic sweeteners not being as readily metabolized?
less calories
mouth bacteria don’t break them down to acids, which cause decay
what are factors that affect sweetener use?
- cost
- calories
- sweeter equivalence with
- sugar (isosweetness)
- solubility and viscosity (must be H2O soluble and dissolve at the same rate)
order the polyols according to relative sweetness
- xylitol (isosweet with sucrose)
- malitol
- manitol
- sorbitol
- isomalt
- polyextros
what sweetener is isosweet as sucrose?
xylitol
what is synergy
mixing multiple sugars and sweeteners (who have different viscosity and sweetness) together in solution
what are polyols?
polyhydric alcohols
what are common food products that use synergy? what is their ratio used?
chewing gum: 3:2 xylitol to sorbitol
sugar free products: 4:1 ratio of maltitol and xylitol
which is the sweetest polyol?
xylitol
isosweet to sucrose
does polyol have an aftertaste?
no
why is xylitol useful for diabetes?
metabolized independently of insulin
why is xylitol resistant to fermentation of oral bacteria?
they don’t cause pH decline (as with sucrose) to demineralize tooth enamel and cause decay
why is xylitol considered low calorie?
it is not metabolized in the gut
main properties of xylitol?
- sweetest polyol (isosweet to sugar)
- has no discernible aftertaste
- metabolized independently of insulin
- resitant to fermentation by oral bacteria
- bacteriocidal
- stable to heat (good for baked goods)
- doesn’t react with AA (no browning occurs)
why does xylitol not cause browning in foods?
it does not react with amino groups or compounds, thus it does not lead to non-enzymatic browning reactions
what are examples of products manufactured with xylitol?
candies gums diabetic food oral hygiene products pharmaceutirals
what is the effect of polyol consumption?
since they are not readily metabolizked, too much intake can lead to enhanced bowel movement
what are types of high intensity sweeteners?
- natural
2. synthetic
compare D and L synthetic high intensity sweeteners
D: insipid (tasteless)
L: sweeter
compare D and L natural high intensity sweeteners
D: sweeter than L (like usual)
L: insipide (tasteless) or bitter
what are 4 examples of natural sweeteners
glycine
d-tryptophan
miraculin
ketemfe
what is special about glycine?
does not have a chiral carbon
thus, no D or L forms
how much sweeter is D-tryptophan than sucrose?
30 to 40 times sweeter
what is beta-chloro-6-tryptophan
derivative of D-tryptophan
1500x sweeter than sucrose
what is miraculin
berry in west africa
if eaten by itself, it is bland. If you eat anything else after (even bitter or sour foods), it will taste sweet
gives an effect of taste modifiation
what is a food that creates taste modification?
miraculin
what is ketemfe
a fruit that produces a peptide rich hydrolysate which is several time sweeter that sucrose
the hydrolysate is known as thaumatin
what is thaumatin
the hydrolysate produced in ketemfe, which is several times sweeter than sucrose
what is stevia
shrub found in sub-tropical and tropical zones in south america
several times sweeter than sucrose
what is the active compound in stevia?
glycosides of steviol (an alcohol)
what are 3 examples of synthetic sweeteners?
aspartame
acesulfame potassium
sucralose (aka splenda)
what are 3 examples of synthetic sweeteners?
aspartame
acesulfame potassium
sucralose (aka splenda)
saccharin
what is aspartame commercially known as?
equal
nutrasweet
what products is aspartame commonly found in?
gums
yogurts
beverages
how much sweeter is aspartame compared to sucrose?
200 times
why is aspartame not suitable for cooked or baked products?
why is it harmful when exposed to heat?
it is heat labile
high heat can cause aspartame to break down into components (methanol is harmful)
what is the defective enzyme in PKU? What is PKU?
PKU is phenylketonuria
defective enzyme is phenylalanine hydrolase
This results in phenylalanine not being utilized, thus it will accumulate and cause mental disorders
which sweetener must be used in combination with other sweeteners?
acesulfame potassium
can acesulfame potassium be used in heat?
yes because it is heat stable
how is acesulfame potassium found in markets?
in the form of tablets